Norsk Reiselivsmuseum

About the museum

The idea of a travel museum was first discussed in 1980, when leaders of Norsk Folkeferie and the Tourist Traffic Committee for Bergen and Western Norway feared that the industry’s knowledge from the whole of the 20th century would be lost. The museum was first to be located in Bergen, but it was placed in Balestrand instead, which has played an important role in Norwegian tourism history. The Vestnorsk Reiselivsmuseum Foundation was established on 18 November 1986, and in 2001 the museum became nationwide and was given the name Norsk Reiselivsmuseum.

In 2007 the museum became a department under De Heibergske Samlinger – Sogn Folkemuseum, and from 2009 it has been part of the consolidated organisation Musea i Sogn og Fjordane. A new museum building was completed in spring 2015 and opened to the public on 29 April 2016. The modern building lies beside one of the village’s historic dragestil houses, and visible rock walls inside the building form the exhibition spaces.

Together the buildings house five exhibitions that show the cultural history of travel in Norway, from the first foreign tourists to today’s travellers. The museum also has an auditorium with film screenings, a library, guided tours of the exhibitions and of the centre of Balestrand, a museum shop and the café Vindreken.

Highlights

• Main exhibition on Norwegian travel history with the panorama film “Postkort frå Noreg”
• Modern museum building with visible rock walls beside a dragestil house
• Guided tours of the exhibitions and a quay walk in Balestrand
• Exhibition on the artists’ colony and national romanticism in one of the dragestil houses
• Café Vindreken with views of the mountains and the fjord

Permanent exhibition

• Hovedutstillingen om norsk reiselivshistorie – The exhibition shows the development of travel in Norway and the contrast between rural life and the first foreign tourists. It has a panorama film, “Postkort frå Noreg” (Postcards from Norway).

Founded

1986

Operated by

Musea i Sogn og Fjordane

Admission & discounts

Free admission for school groups (please contact the museum), tour leaders and drivers, press, members of NMF/ICOM and visitors to the museum’s exhibition openings. Tickets can be bought online. Groups receive a tailored programme with a price by arrangement.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on the north side of the Sognefjord, centrally by the quay in Balestrand.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Café Vindreken during the museum’s opening hours; it can be used by everyone, including without a ticket. Museum shop with books about travel and culture, and gifts.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Up to 59 guests.

The auditorium has 59 seats and the Vindreken café has 55. Half day (up to 4 hours) from NOK 1,200; full day (up to 8 hours) from NOK 2,000 for up to 20 people.

Plan your visit